The Marauders' Summer Party
by dobbyfan18
Summary: Response to a challenge by Myra Black. PG for some inevitable LJ. Other than that, the title should explain it.
1. Invitations

Disclaimer: I own NOTHING! I donÕt own the Marauders, Lily, or anybody else unless thereÕs an astric by them the first time they appear. JKR owns anybody you recognize, and Myra Black owns anybody you donÕt recognize who doesnÕt have an astric by their name, and she also owns the idea of this story. I got the idea from her challenge.   
  
ÒOy, Davey!Ó Davey Gudgeon turned and saw James Potter sprinting toward him, waving a piece of parchment.  
  
ÒParty --- my house --- this summer,Ó panted James. Startled, Davey looked around: Remus Lupin was heading towards MacKenzie Lennington*, likewise brandishing a piece of parchment, and in the distance, two figures that looked suspiciously like Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew appeared to be running to Frank Longbottom and his girlfriend Alice by the lake.  
  
Though James had left to deliver Ian Spinnet*Õs invitation after giving Davey the brief explanation, the parchment itself went into much more detail.  
  
ÒYouÕre invited to a party at the Potter Mansion on July 19th, 1973. Come between 5:30 pm and 3:00 am as you please. Have ID ready to show to our security guard Stu. Books prohibited. Swimming pool, please bring swimwear.Ó  
  
ÒIÕll be there,Ó said Davey, impressed, to what turned out to be the air next to him instead of James. ÒUm...well...Ó  
  
***  
  
That night, the air in the Gryffindor common room was abuzz, as well as full of small pieces of parchment, because many students were either sending notes to friends across the room or waving their invitations around.  
  
ÒItÕs a hit!Ó said Sirius delightedly. He, James, Remus, and Peter were huddled in a corner observing the effects of the invitations, all of which had been handed out that day. And quite some effects they were: You would be hard put to find someone who would go into fourth year or above the next year in the room who wasnÕt having an intense but gleeful discussion (save Lily Evans, who naturally wasnÕt invited). And it was fairly easy to guess (mainly on the part of the fact that nearly all of them were brandishing invitations) what the subject of all the chatter was.  
  
A/N: Well? I hope you liked it, because I actually like writing MWPP stories just as much as Trio (or Neville, or Crabbe and Goyle, or Dobby-Fred) stories. I just havenÕt posted them. And, I know I should be working on my other fics, but this looked like so much fun, so I hope you donÕt mind. PLEASE R&R!!!  
  
P.S. My bangs are sticking out at strange angles today, and that reminds me of Harry. No reason in particular for adding that. 


	2. The Deal and the Sandwiches

Disclaimer: Ho ho ho, we have a pickle! Ummm, right, nothing and no one belongs to me unless thereÕs an astric by their name. Exactly the same thing as with Chapter One.  
  
Jenn Potter stepped into the living room (as opposed to sitting room, parlor, rec room, or second living room) of her familyÕs mansion on July 12th, a week before the party date.  
  
ÒGuys --- OUT!!!Ó The four Marauders, who had been sitting on assorted couches holding clipboards (which was, as Nikki Holmes said later, rather scary in itself), jumped and scattered. When they were gathered again near the door to the hall, Jenn continued.  
  
ÒYou know the deal. You got to write and hand out the invitations --- and therefore itÕs your fault if somebody ends up at the EvansÕ house because they couldnÕt read your handwriting --- so we get to do most of the planning.Ó Jenn ignored her brother JamesÕs attempt to look disdainful only to smile slightly dreamily at the mention of Lily Evans, and Remus, Sirius, and PeterÕs real scorn.   
  
(A/N: Lily is the PottersÕ next-door neighbor --- Myra BlackÕs idea, not mine.)  
  
ÒAwwwwwww, but Nikkiiiiiiiiiiii,Ó whined Sirius to his girlfriend.  
  
ÒOut,Ó said Kaylee Fallon firmly but quietly, and with such a resemblance to Dumbledore that the slightly unnerved Marauders stumbled out of the room.  
  
ÒYouÕve GOT to teach me how to do that someday....Ó remarked Jenn.   
  
Meanwhile, the four boys were competing for prime spots to put their ears to the door. Finally Peter gave up and decided to just listen from a little further away from the door, while Remus was nearly standing on James, although he was so thin James didnÕt really mind.   
  
Soon the girlsÕ voices came muffledly (A/N: Is ÒmuffledlyÓ a word? ;-D) through the wood.  
  
ÒSo, whoÕs going to do food?Ó  
  
ÒI can do that, my mumÕs a great cook, IÕll ask her to make pizza,Ó came NikkiÕs voice.  
  
Outside, Sirius grinned. ÒYes! I LOVE that pizza!Ó  
  
ÒFor half of Hogwarts?Ó said Jenn dubiously.  
  
ÒUmm... Engorgement Charm?Ó suggested Nikki.  
  
ÒAlright then,Ó said Kaylee, getting the conversation moving again. ÒBut what about music?Ó  
  
ÒOh, easy,Ó replied Jenn quickly, ÒIÕve got tons of records we can use.Ó  
  
ÒOkay then. What else is there?Ó  
  
ÒDunno, the house elves can do cleaning...Ó  
  
On the other side of the door, the Marauders were getting bored with this talk.  
  
ÒYou know, all this eavesdropping is making me hungry,Ó said Peter, in a very --- well --- Peter-like manner.  
  
ÒTrue,Ó said Remus and Sirius at the same time.  
  
James muttered, ÒWormtail, Wormtail, Wormtail....Ó under his breath, but yelled all the same (after getting a safe distance away from the door so as not to be discovered), ÒOY, FLOPPERS!Ó  
  
A middle-aged house elf entered the hall from a door on the right, which happened to lead to the PottersÕ kitchen. The house elves were the only ones who could entirely navigate the mansion.   
  
ÒWhat is Young Master wanting?Ó inquired Floppers.  
  
ÒSandwiches...Ó said James, looking questioningly at his friends.  
  
ÒGrilled cheese.Ó  
  
ÒHam.Ó  
  
ÒEgg salad.Ó  
  
ÒAnd tuna for me,Ó finished James. ÒTwo of each, could you?Ó Floppers scurried back through the door and returned shortly, carrying a platter of sandwiches.   
  
ÒThank you, please come again.Ó  
  
James scrunched up one eye and arched the other eyebrow at his house elf.  
  
ÒMasters Black and Lupin are teaching me that,Ó Floppers responded.  
  
ÒWhat? Sirius says his cousin ---Ó  
  
ÒAndromeda,Ó Sirius interjected hastily.  
  
ÒTaught him that. Muggle restaurants say it,Ó Remus finished.   
  
ÒIf you say so,Ó replied James. If his friends wanted to teach one of the family house elves strange things to say, it was fine by him.  
  
By that time Floppers had been pulled back into the kitchen by one of the other house elves, Yisbo, and the girls had finished planning. Though FloppersÕ absence was clear quite soon, the Marauders didnÕt find out the last part until Nikki burst into the hall.  
  
ÒLet the party... BEGIN!!!Ó  
  
ÒUm, Nik?Ó said Kaylee. ÒThe partyÕs not for another week.Ó  
  
ÒI knew that,Ó replied Nikki hastily.  
  
ÒYou two were definitely meant for each other,Ó Remus muttered to Sirius, who wasnÕt sure if this was a compliment or not.  
  
A/N: Well, was it interesting? If you donÕt find the planning, sandwiches, etc. to your taste, let me tell you that I want to start the party next chapter. In case you were wondering, I got the name Floppers from my friend Alyssa. Thanks for the idea, Sergeant Mo! ;-D  
  
Please R&R, it really makes my day when I get review alert emails!  
  
Oh, and just so you know, when I have quotation marks at the end of a paragraph, they vanish when I upload. So, donÕt mind that! 


	3. His Lily Tone of Voice

Disclaimer: I own a crisp new 20 for my money collection. No Marauders. No Lily. And they donÕt even USE 20Õs. So.... J. K. Rowling is the genius behind all these characters. I just borrow them.  
  
(A/N: IÕm really excited to start this chappie. I feel the earth move under my feet, I feel the sky come tumbling down. Oh, wait, maybe thatÕs the Mandy Moore CD IÕm listening to. Anyway, on with the story!)  
  
Sirius was evidently as excited as the author about the party starting. It took James and RemusÕs combined efforts to prevent him from running straight through the door the first time the bell rang to announce a guest. This left Peter to answer. Naturally, the scene was rather a surprise to Steven Stebbins, who happened to be the one ringing the doorbell. His eyes widened but quickly went back to normal size when Peter showed him to the rec room and Jenn, Nikki, and Kaylee entered the room and began going about normal pre-party procedures (A/N: PPP, lol. That was an accident!), normal being interpreted as Sirius-free.  
  
Soon MacKenzie Lennington of Ravenclaw arrived with her friend Lynette Pungerby, closely followed by Thomas Wood and then a couple, Frank Longbottom and Alice Wells, both of whom would be going into seventh year. As more and more guests poured through the door (all Gryffindors -- except Lily Evans --, Hufflepuffs, and Ravenclaws who would be going into fourth year or above had been invited), it became safe to release Sirius. He now had enough to do that he wouldnÕt cause any destruction of the mansion.  
  
As the hosts and hostesses explained where in the mansion things were located, all the assorted invite-ees began to spread out. Jen put on one of her records, and the rec room became mostly dance floor. Meanwhile, the living room was changed to Concession Central (yes, the pizza needed its own room!) and the sitting room, the sit-around-and-talk-to-people-even-if-you-donÕt-know-them room.  
  
~MEANWHILE IN THE POOL~  
  
ÒHey, that was mine!Ó  
  
ÒWell, itÕs mine now!Ó  
  
Two good-natured voices echoed through the large room that the pool was in.  
  
ÒAndie, you donÕt even use it!Ó  
  
ÒYou want it, Padfoot? Go get it, boy!Ó Andromeda Black threw the water-saturated ball over her younger-by-a-year cousin SiriusÕs head. It landed at the opposite end of the pool, narrowly missing Ian Spinnet.  
  
ÔOf course, the only two Blacks who arenÕt evil are like THIS,Õ thought Nikki as Sirius sighed and swam off to get the ball. But she didnÕt really mean it. Actually, Nikki supposed that if it werenÕt for their buoyant personalities, Sirius and Andie might not survive in their family at all -- literally. She shuddered to think what her boyfriendÕs relatives were like.   
  
Abruptly, Nikki reminded herself that she was at a party. Shoving all glum thoughts out of her mind, she swam underwater towards Jen and grabbed her ankle. Jen nearly jumped out of the water and Nikki emerged, giggling.  
  
~AT ÒCONCESSION CENTRALÓ~  
  
ÒSay, Peter, do you plan on doing anything besides eat pizza all night?Ó Kaylee asked.  
  
Peter considered.  
  
ÒWell... eat chips,Ó he answered with a quirky smile. ÔMaybe heÕs a Marauder after all,Õ thought Kaylee.  
  
(A/N: AAAAAARGH! Endearing thoughts about Wormtail! I canÕt take it! I wouldnÕt do this if it werenÕt in the challenge...maybe thatÕs why challenges are called that... But then, I suppose Peter was okay then.)  
  
ÔI wonder if Peter would seem more competent if he was away from James and Remus and Sirius,Õ Kaylee pondered. But before she could do anything, there was a shout of ÒPOTTER!Ó from the rec room, where the door was.   
  
ÔOh, boy,Õ Kaylee thought. ÔThis will be interesting.Õ  
  
She recognized that voice.  
  
~ABOUT THE SHOUT~  
  
About the time Peter grabbed his fourth slice of pizza, this is what was happening in the rec room.  
  
Remus was on his way over to a chubby Hufflepuff, who looked confused. A piece of something ceramic whizzed past him.  
  
Just as Remus directed the Hufflepuff, whose name was Agnes, to the pool (ÒJust follow the signs, you canÕt miss it!Ó), another knock sounded on the door.  
  
ÒAh, someone who decided to be Ôfashionably late!ÕÓ James declared good-humoredly. He had been having a pleasant conversation with Thomas Wood about his chances of becoming captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team next year when the current captain graduated.  
  
As it turned, out, that ÒsomeoneÓ hadnÕt been invited at all.  
  
As the door flew open, all that the people on one side of the room saw was a mass of dark red hair. The owner of this hair marched straight over to James, who looked slightly intimidated. A hush fell over the room, as well as many of the surrounding hallways.  
  
ÒPOTTER! WHAT is going on over here?! My parents, Petunia and I canÕt even HEAR each other, much less get to sleep!Ó Lily Evans yelled.  
  
ÒBut -- Lily --Ó James stuttered.  
  
ÒI think what he means to say,Ó Remus inserted, ÒIs that weÕre just having a party. You can stay if you like -- IÕm sure James here would like that -- but itÕs no reason to get mad.Ó  
  
ÒYeah, that,Ó agreed James. RemusÕs ability to stay cool often came in handy when dealing with Lily.  
  
Lily was clearly still seething, but now she at least quit being so hysterical. She couldnÕt really argue with THAT logic. Well, she could, but she wouldnÕt win. After all, Remus was the other Gryffindor prefect. Lily didnÕt entirely agree with this choice after his role in turning all her textbooks orchid, but still...  
  
ÒSo... Evans.... fancy staying?Ó James had now adopted what the other three-fourths of the Marauders called his ÒLily tone of voice.Ó  
  
Lily rolled her eyes and didnÕt say anything, but she didnÕt leave either. James, taking this as an affirmative, leapt into the air and whooped.  
  
A/N: Ha! Take that, you tapdancing muffins! I mean, umm... Yeah, hereÕs my new chapter, all you lovely potential reviewers...heh heh...   
  
So, anyway, sorry about the delay in posting. I basically had writerÕs block on everything, but today I decided to just get on with it, because IÕd already planned out most of the story after Lily comes. And apparently that was a good idea, because this chapter is nine pages long (including A/NÕs) in a slightly large font. Thanks for bothering to read this, and as always, review review review! I believe the most reviews I have on any of my stories is two or three, so if you like this one, IÕd appreciate it if you checked out my profile. Happy not Tuesday (well, I dunno, it might be Tuesday when you read this, but you know what I mean) !!! 


	4. OY It's July!

Disclaimer: I don't own this. Although, according to my friends, I do own monkey blubber (don't ask).  
  
Lily blinked as she thought of a comeback. Then one came to her.  
  
"JUST A PARTY?! Try the LOUDEST party in history, which, of course, just HAPPENS to be next door to me! And Potter, quit jumping, you'll hit your oversized head on the ceiling, and even I don't want that." James abruptly stopped hopping. There was an awkward silence.  
  
Then, out of the blue, Dobby's hog said, "Merry Christmas to all and to all a biodegradable night!" Lynette Pungerby dropped her slice of pizza as the hog flew out the door (which Lily had left open).  
  
"OY -- it's JULY!" someone yelled in a rather delayed response. Then, after that exceedingly strange moment, everything was back to normal. Well, it was back to how it had been, anyway.   
  
James looked bemusedly after the hog for a second, but seemed to come to himself and next responded to Lily the way he always did.  
  
"Will you go out with me?  
  
"ARGH, Potter, how long will it take for you to figure out that I DON'T WANT TO?!  
  
"I don't know, shall we say, five years at least?" James quipped, grinning.  
  
Lily sighed. "Oh, fine, I'll stay. BUT! Only if YOU" -- she gestured to James -- "stay away from me.  
  
James cheered again, causing Remus to sincerely wish he knew a spell to put James in a cheerleading outfit.   
  
And...everyone left. Well, not left... DISPERSED. Agnes the Hufflepuff, who had returned to spectate, headed to the pool again. Lynette dusted off her slice of pizza. Peter grabbed another chip. Alice Wells resumed talking to Frank. Steven Stebbins did a small jig. Oh wait, you didn't have to know that.   
  
And Remus went off to ask Sirius if he knew anything about Cheerleader Charms.  
  
He found Sirius still in the pool (although very shrivelled-looking by now) with Andromeda and Jenn, Nikki having left. Having recovered the ball, they were now playing monkey in the middle. Well, they were making a valiant effort to. The Black cousins were having rather a hard time because their "monkey" Jenn kept leaving to swim laps.  
  
Remus sat at the edge and waved his feet in the water. "Sirius!  
  
"Yeah, Moony?" came the reply from off where they were trying to capture Jenn.   
  
"C'mere! You think I want to yell across the pool?"   
  
"Well, mate, seeing as you just were, I kinda assumed you wouldn't mind," Sirius panted, grinning, after swimming over. Behind him, Andie tried to tackle Jenn, but she slid away underwater.  
  
Remus gave him "the look." "Well, anyway, I was wondering if you knew a hex or something we could use on James. To put a cheerleader outfit on him, I mean.  
  
"Cheerleader outfit? Why?" Sirius looked puzzled.  
  
"Evans showed up, and -- oh -- you should have seen Prongs! He was jumping and yelling and stuff." Remus smirked as he said this.  
  
"Evans? HERE?  
  
"Yes, here. She does live next door, you know, Padfoot.  
  
"Oh, yeah," said Sirius, looking sheepish.  
  
"But anyway, DO you know the spell?  
  
"I think I might.... but first I need to see the book.  
  
"And where exactly to you intend to get that book? It's not like we can just walk to the school library.  
  
"James's collection. Remember that time we all came over last summer and he spent ages showing us his spellbooks?  
  
"Well, no, not really, but if you insist... Anything to get James in that pleated skirt.  
  
"That's the spirit!" Sirius dried off and without further ado set off for James's personal section of his family library. He turned around before turning the corner. "And one more thing, Moony?  
  
"Yeah?" "Be sure to cast this one around Evans.  
  
Meanwhile, Lily was having an almost perfectly normal time. Except the occasional time when James would brush against her on purpose, she was enjoying herself talking to Nikki on the sidelines of the dance floor. They discussed everything from Sirius's hair (though Lily was rather keen to get away from this subject) to the resignation of the Muggle president of the United States to how ill Professor Binns had been looking lately. And therefore, no one noticed Sirius sneak into the room.  
  
And once again meanwhile, Kaylee was back to being all philosophical-ish. ÔMaybe he's really not that incompetent after all. I mean, the other Marauders are, like, the elite. Anyone would seem dumb next to them.  
  
"Hey, Peter...  
  
"Um-hmm?" he replied with his mouth full of pizza.  
  
"Oh...nevermind," said Kaylee, getting flustered.  
  
"Okay.  
  
ÔSo agreeable...unsuspecting,' she thought. This stiffened her resolution. ÔDo it,' she told herself. ÔNow!' And she did.  
  
"Say, Wormtail... would you want to go to Hogsmeade on Wednesday?  
  
Peter's face lit up visibly. "Sure! Like a date?  
  
"Well...I dunno. I suppose you could call it that. It's not like Jen's going to be standing right there or anything. So...  
  
A/N: OK, that was, without a doubt, the hardest thing to write that I've ever encountered. I told myself to quit procrastinating about the PK in the challenge, so after about a week of thinking about how to do it, I tried. I know, it wasn't very good. Trust me, the JamesLily part is going to be way better! I was working on this a lot, but I kept getting writer's block after small parts, so that's why it took me ages to update. SORRY! Please review, pplz! It really makes my day! Pickles to everybody who reviewed my other chappies and/or stories (except ostrich in sox aka Ali)! Thanks a million and nineteen! OK, sorry, I always get a little hyper when it comes to the reviews.... remember, review! [:-) 


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